Love to Live, Live to Love
by ReachingOutFES
Summary: [AU] As the new year starts, Yu Narukami finds himself moving in with his favorite cousin and uncle in Inaba as well as preparing to attend Arcana Academy, a prodigious ladder school situated between the countryside and Ayanagi City. With both extremes in reach, just what kind of opportunities will he find? (Cowritten with Gin Nanashi)
1. Start

**Author's Note: **I'm out of hiatus... yay... Me and my partner are here to bring a new fanfic! Warning though... Its completely AU but we hope to bring some joy to everyone! Thanks to _Gin Nanashi_ and_ sillyfudgemonkeys_ for helping me out with the ideas. I wanted to write the sequel of Fake Me but I found it really hard. For some reason after finishing **Fake Me**... I started shipping Yu X Minako and I hope to bring this couple in the spolight for this fic. Now words from my Partner!

**Gin Nanashi**: Hello, all~! It feels like it's been a while since our last collaboration, ne? But wait no more for here is our latest! :D I'm actually quite excited to work on this one since it'll be happy and fluffy and oozing with sweetness in general. Not to mention that I'll be playing around with my second favorite non-canon pairing for the Persona fandom~ ;P So, without further ado, please enjoy!

Now some of you are wondering... Why are you using that cover? Well... I'll explain later... Bye the way... any of you read Persona 4: The Magician Manga? I suggest looking it up! Why? Its a recommendation I guess...

Please Read, Review and Follow please? :P

* * *

**Monday, April 09, 2012**

* * *

It was the perfect spring day: the sky was blue, the clouds were white and the sun was bright as it shined its golden rays down upon the rural town of Inaba and, more importantly, upon a certain quaint but modern Japanese house located on the countryside's eastern edge.

"Good morning~," her cheerful voice chirped in the midst of their quiet home, "It's time to wake up, Big Bro!"

Gray curtains were pulled open, spilling sunlight into the previously dark room, and the young man in question stirred beneath the blue blanket before a mussed head poked out and monochrome eyes blinked blearily.

"Na…? Morn…? Whaaa…?"

Giggling at how scatterbrained he appeared, Nanako Dojima skipped over to her cousin and began tugging him out of bed but the eighteen-year-old simply curled back into the warmth and comfort of his futon, grumbling incoherently.

With an indignant pout, the seven-year-old girl tightened her grip on her self-proclaimed big brother and dug her heels into the blue-and-gray patterned rug.

"Come. On. Get. Up…!"

Each word was emphasized by a pull until–

"Meep!"

–her hold slipped and she fell onto her bottom–

Thud!

–alongside one tangled up Yu Narukami.

Gray eyes blinked once, twice, thrice at the girl in front of him before the young man flopped listlessly onto his stomach and groaned, "Time…?"

She smiled innocently. "It's six-thirty, Big Bro."

There was a pause before he asked, "…Ten more minutes?"

"Nope."

"How about five?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Three…?"

"Sorry~!"

And he whined.

_Why did school have to start so early?_

* * *

**Fifteen minutes later…**

* * *

Shoulders slumped and head bowed, Yu finally made his way downstairs and dropped heavily into his seat, grumbling, "God have mercy on me this morning…"

A chuckle answered him.

"You're finally up," the man of the house hummed with no little amusement as he set down a plate of syrup-covered pancakes in front of the teen, "Well, I'm no god but hopefully this will wake you up."

"…?"

Gray eyes lifted wearily from staring at his breakfast as if it were alien before the young man visibly perked up as the aromatic scent of freshly brewed coffee reached his nose.

"Uncle," Yu said with the utmost of solemnity, "You are god."

And with that said, he eagerly accepted the proffered cup, pressing his lips against the edge and breathing in the strong fragrance before taking a wholehearted sip and sighing happily,

"It's a good morning~…"

Ryotaro Dojima laughed heartily, "And here I thought it was the end of the world with how you were acting earlier."

Embarrassed, Yu rubbed the back of his neck. "You know how I am, Uncle. Mornings just aren't my thing…"

"Except after you drink coffee," Nanako chirped as she hopped off of the last step, "Then you're like me!" She pulled herself up a chair before beaming when her own cup and breakfast were set in front of her. "Thank you, Daddy!"

"You're welcome, Nanako." The man patted her head before sitting down himself and opening up the newspaper out of habit. "So, first day of class today, huh? Excited?"

It took a moment for either one to answer as they chewed their food before the youngest swallowed and nodded cheerfully. "Yeah! I finally get to go to the same school as Big Bro!"

"Which means we can meet up to eat lunch," Yu added with a grin, "Not to mention ditching–"

Plop!

"…"

A twitch left the teen as a piece of egg fell off of his face.

"Whoops." Ryotaro set down his fork. "My hand slipped."

And the young man sulked. "You can at least _try_ to sound apologetic…"

His uncle merely shrugged before winking playfully at Nanako as she giggled behind her hands.

Yu huffed even as a smile tugged at his lips.

It was times like these that he missed so much ever since the two had moved away from his home city and into the countryside. But now that his parents had gone abroad for business, Yu could return to those days of warmth and confidence – for the school year at the very least. Not to mention his uncle was practically giddy upon getting an extra hour of sleep now that he didn't need to drive Nanako to school anymore.

Yu sighed.

_Lucky guy._

* * *

**A half hour to eight…**

* * *

"Alright then," Ryotaro sighed as he passed the backpack to his daughter, "You two ready to go?"

"Uh-huh!" She bounced a bit, clearly eager to get going. "I can't wait to show Big Bro around! Arcana Academy is HUUUGE!"

Her arms were spread out in an attempt to show just how grand it was and both males laughed softly.

"I'll be counting on you then," Yu chuckled, dropping a hand on his self-proclaimed little sister's head, before he nodded to his uncle, "I think we're good here. You're needed at the station now, right?"

"Right," the man sighed with a hint of irritation, "I swear, they don't teach the rookies anything these days…"

Just then, the intercom clicked to life and a man announced that the train to Ayanagi City was due to arrive in one short moment.

"Well, that's your ride," Ryotaro said, patting his nephew on the shoulder before kissing his daughter on the forehead, "Remember to stick together and give me a call if you're going anywhere after school, okay? Take care of each other and be careful!"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

They saluted with cheesy smiles before waving goodbye as the man entered his car and drove off from Yasoinaba Station to work.

Just then, a whistle sounded and Nanako cheered,

"The train's here!"

Yu smiled fondly as he allowed himself to be dragged by his enthusiastic cousin and the two boarded the surprisingly crowded train.

Luckily, there was a seat open and the teen acted swiftly, picking Nanako up and placing her gently on the vacant spot beside the door.

Her cheeks flushed a soft pink color as she looked up at him with wide eyes and asked, "Are you sure you don't want to sit instead?"

"I'm fine with standing," Yu answered, holding onto the pole, before he winked, "Besides, I don't want to accidentally fall asleep again."

She giggled at his explanation before smiling brightly. "Thank you, Big Bro!"

His gaze softened. "You're welcome–"

"WAAAAAAIIIIIIT!"

Head snapping up, Yu turned to see a mahogany-haired male running towards the train with a panicked look on his face.

"HOLD THE DOOR!"

A beep was heard and the gray-haired male quickly slammed a hand in between the closing doors before the latecomer dived through, stumbling a bit and nearly crashing into a pole but swerving instead to land on his bottom.

"Oof!"

Static sounded overhead as the intercom switched on and a woman spoke briskly,

"Please avoid running on the platform and keep all hands, legs and body away from the closing doors. Thank you."

A click signaled the end of the announcement and silence reigned for a moment before the brunet laughed and stood up.

"Thanks, man! I owe you one!" He grinned and held out a hand. "The name's Yosuke Hanamura, third year high schooler at Arc. You are…?"

"Yu Narukami, same," he introduced himself as he shook the other's hand in greeting, "I just transferred to Arcana Academy."

"I can tell," Yosuke said cheerfully as he tapped at his breast pocket, upon which was emblazoned the school emblem and III-3 just underneath, "I didn't recognize your face but we have the same uniform on…"

It was then that the gray-haired male took notice of their matching outfits: a pair of black slacks, a blue button-down shirt and a black jacket worn over that. The only differences between the two were that Yu left his jacket unzipped and wore black loafers while Yosuke had bulky orange headphones around his neck and wore white sneakers.

"Speaking of which," the brunet continued on, "We might even be in the same class!"

"Maybe," Yu answered ambiguously before looking down when he felt a tug from behind.

Nanako was gazing curiously at the newcomer, one hand clenched around her cousin's jacket while the other was fiddling with her own sailor-styled uniform, which consisted of a black skirt and a black-collared red top that had a white ribbon tied in front. As with her elders, the school emblem was stitched over her heart but, just underneath it, was I-2 instead of III-3. She also wore white knee-high socks and black loafers.

Smiling, the monochrome teen dropped a hand on her head and turned to the brunet. "This is Nanako, by the way, my little sister."

She perked up upon hearing that and stepped away from her hiding spot, bowing politely. "I'm Nanako Dojima, a second year elementary student. It's nice to meet you, Hanamura-senpai."

His raised brows bespoke of his curiosity towards their differing last names but he said nothing of it as he instead took her hand and shook it with a wink. "Likewise, little lady. You're really mature for your age, you know that?"

Nanako visibly brightened at the compliment before blushing and ducking behind her cousin again, causing the brunet to laugh good-naturedly.

He then turned back to Yu. "So… Since you're transferring in, that means you took the entrance exams, right?"

The gray-haired male nodded with curiosity flickering in his eyes as Yosuke whistled. "You must be pretty smart then! Those tests are no joke since, you know, preference is given to those who live within the Local Zone."

The Local Zone, Yu remembered, referred to the area surrounding Arcana Academy and encompassing both Inaba and Ayanagi City.

"Not to mention," the mahogany-haired male continued, "Arc's a ladder school so we don't get a lot of outsiders. Most of us know each other from way back when…" He paused before grimacing. "Speaking of which, you'll be the center of attention for a while."

Yu raised a brow. "Will that be a problem?"

Scratching his cheek, Yosuke thought for a moment before answering, "Well, I guess not but…" He looked around for a moment, sweating a bit when he saw Nanako's wondering expression, and leaned closer in order to whisper conspiratorially into his ears. "Some of the girls are pretty out there and, well, you're pretty much fresh meat for them so…"

"…I see."

Yu sweated as the brunet nodded all-knowingly, still rambling, before monochrome eyes landed on the quiet girl beside him.

Nanako blinked curiously before smiling brightly and he returned her grin.

_It can't be that bad, right?_

* * *

**Thirty-five minutes later…**

* * *

The train screeched and jerked a bit as it pulled into the station just as the intercom went off and announced,

"This is Arcana Academy. I repeat, we have arrived at Arcana Academy. Please remember to take all belongings and…"

Swinging his bag over his shoulder, Yu grabbed Nanako's hand to make sure that she didn't get swept away by the rushing crowd before the newly formed trio exited at a fast pace and sighed in relief when they finally reached the outdoors.

"Ugh… I forgot how hectic the station could be," Yosuke groaned as he rubbed at his ribs, "Who knew elbows could be so sharp…?"

"Um…" Nanako shifted a bit from her position slightly behind Yu. "You're not hurt, are you, senpai?"

Brown eyes blinked in surprise at the worried look directed at him before the brunet rubbed the tip of his nose in embarrassment. "Nah~ I'm good. Just got caught off guard, 's all. Thanks for asking, Nanako-chan."

She perked up and smiled happily, seemingly emitting flowers and sparkles and all things lovely. "So long as you're okay then!"

_So cute!_ An imaginary arrow struck his heart as Yosuke almost swooned but caught himself in time as he clasped a hand over Yu's shoulder and said, "Man, you're so lucky! You've got such a sweet and adorable little sister. All I have is one big baby brother…"

The brunet seemed to wilt at the thought as he abruptly stopped walking and instead crouched to the floor, drawing random circles with a stick that appeared out of nowhere.

Yu and Nanako traded curious looks before the girl asked, "Your 'big baby brother'…?"

Yosuke sighed. "Yeah… His name's Teddie. And he can be quite a handful. Always asking me to buy him food…"

Although he was complaining, there was a certain warmth evident in the his voice that made the cousins smile before–

"Oh!"

–Nanako gasped and skipped on ahead, spinning once and holding out her arms excitedly.

"This is it, Big Bro," she cheered, "Welcome to Arcana Academy!"

And Yu was floored.

Before him was a grand marble walkway that split symmetrically multiple times across acres of lush green grass with aesthetically cut and placed trees. Three noticeably larger paths were split from the one in front of him and were paved towards three recognizable school buildings, each marked with a different primary color: blue to the left, red in the middle and yellow to the right. Beyond and around the manmade structures appeared to be a forest and the entire school zone seemed to be enclosed by black fences atop short marble walls with two stones pillars on either side of the open gates. A crystalline butterfly statue was perched atop of both posts.

(Nanako hadn't been kidding when she said, "Arcana Academy is HUUUGE!")

But Yu quickly recomposed himself before smiling down at his cousin. "I guess I'll be in your care then, Nanako."

Her cheeks flushed but she never lost her smile. "Yeah! I'll definitely show you where everything is." Then, as if just remembering, her grin turned sheepish. "Well, except for inside the middle and high school buildings. I'm not allowed there…"

"Ah, no worries," Yosuke cut in, resting his arm against Yu's shoulder, "I've got his back so you can count on me–EEK!"

He was abruptly cut off as something, or perhaps some_one_, crashed into him and, in a whirlwind of yellow, the brunet was dragged off, screaming and flailing, as a trail of dust was left in their wake.

"…Well," Yu sighed after a moment of silence, "There goes my possible wingman."

Nanako giggled innocently. "Don't worry, Big Bro. Even though it looks really different from the outside, the inside should be similar to other public schools. Plus, I'll be there for you!"

He grinned down at her and rubbed the top of her head. "I know you will, Nanako, so thank you."

She beamed up at him before a bell rang out, chiming once…

…twice…

…three times.

"Oh! That's the warning bell! It means we have five minutes to get to class," she told him upon seeing his confused look, "The late bell has a different sound but also rings three times."

Yu hummed in understanding. "We should get going then."

"Uh-huh!" Nanako nodded before pointing at the water fountain in the direct center of the courtyard. "I'll wait for you there at lunchtime, okay, Big Bro?"

"Understood." He gave her a short salute and she grinned before jogging off with a wave. "See you later, Big Bro!"

He smiled and waved back. "Have fun, Nanako."

Once he made sure that she'd entered the red-marked building for elementary students, Yu turned left and began walking down one of the many paths, gazing at the beautiful scenery in wonder, before a movement out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention.

Curious, the gray-haired male decided to take a closer look and walked over to one of the scattered cherry blossom trees.

Peeking around the thick trunk, Yu suddenly stilled as his eyes widened and his cheeks warmed just a tad.

There, amidst pink petals that danced with the gentle spring breeze, knelt a pretty young woman clad in a properly buttoned black jacket worn over a blue dress shirt that was tucked neatly into a short black skirt. Black socks adorned her legs and stopped halfway up her thighs, teasingly revealing a strip of bare skin, as her feet were covered with black loafers. Tied in front of her chest was a white ribbon and to the left of it was the school emblem, under which was a familiar III-3 stitching.

"Mou…" Her soft voice held a hint of distress. "Where is it…?"

Realizing that she must have lost something, Yu took a look around him before his eyes caught sight of a glimmer amongst the building pile of falling cherry blossoms.

With a silent step forward, he reached down and brushed away the faded pink petals before picking up a butterfly hair clip that was azure in color and seemingly fragile to the touch.

"Are you looking for this?"

She jumped, clearly surprised, and whirled around as her auburn locks swished around her face, spilling over her shoulders, and Yu had to fight to keep from blushing visibly.

"Here." He held out his find and nodded his head to the side. "I found it over there."

For a moment, she simply gaze upon him with those bright crimson orbs of hers before she smiled shyly. "Thank you…"

The gratitude in her voice was clear as she gingerly placed her hand over his and his skin tingled pleasantly from the warmth that emanated from her.

"You're welcome." Yu smiled warmly.

Her cheeks flushed a tantalizing red as she ducked her head in embarrassment and mumbled her thanks again before bowing once and quickly running away.

_Yup. _A chuckle left his lips. _Not bad at all._

And it was _definitely_ a good morning.


	2. Fortune

**Author's Note: **I'm _beary_ sorry if this took long! Sorry for the wait, well its because for reasons... Good reasons. Anyway thanks to my partner for editing it! :P Can't get this done without my partner. Hope you enjoy and review please? Got a oneshot called_ Be_ and there are stories from my partner_ Gin Nanashi_ that you should check out as well! Its worth reading I hope... Enjoy!

* * *

_…I guess this is it._

Looking up at the grand building, the young man took in the beautiful victorian architecture and couldn't help but whistle lowly, feeling deeply impressed by it all. Gray eyes roamed over the detailed engravings of creatures long dreamt and of heroes long praised. The entirety of his new high school was refined, highly reminiscent of European culture, and captivating, like a castle of ancient times.

He swallowed.

_And so it begins…_

Unbidden, Yu shivered from feelings of anticipation, excitement and even a hint of foreboding before he shook them off and entered the magnificent blue-marked edifice.

The sight stole his breath away.

Unlike with public schools that he had attended in the past, the lobby of this particular one welcomed him like that of a high-class hotel. It was grandiose, almost akin to a ballroom, with dark floors that shined beneath the light of the crystal chandelier and–

_Is that a _waterfall_?!_

–Yu could only gape at the sight of clear water shimmering along the entire back wall as it fell into the manmade brook that connected two koi ponds, one at each far corner of the lobby, and was partially hidden behind the mahogany desk, which was decorated on either side with a potted floor plant. Going over the stream were a short staircase to the left and a ramp to the right that seemed to lead into a large window-filled hallway. Off to the right side of the lobby was a crowd of students gathered around three side-by-side bulletin boards.

_…I guess Nanako's never been to a public school before…_

A sigh left his lips as he recalled her (false) assurances that the academy wouldn't be so different from his previous experiences before he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

_Oh well. Nothing else to it but to keep on keeping on…_

With but a second of hesitation, Yu took a step forward and his shoes clicked against the granite. The sound was lost amongst the cascade of water and the murmur of conversations. There was nary a glance in his direction and his tense shoulders relaxed.

Everyone was too caught up in their own business to pay him any mind.

A relieved smile played on his lips and, no longer overwhelmed, he made a movement to stride towards the point of interest when his eyes caught sight of the mural to the left.

It was about the same size as the bulletin boards and, curious, the young man walked over for a better look.

Figures walked across the thin white line that cut horizontally across the artwork and seemed to portray a myriad of individuals from human to beast, males to females, young to older. Below the line, as if they were reflections of the top, were beings just as unique but heading in the opposite direction. Some were discernible – such as the variation of Cerberus with its connection to the white canine – but others were difficult to describe – such as the toad-headed humanoid that walked against someone who, oddly enough, resembled a certain mahogany-haired friend. And yet, despite how distinguishable each and every one of them were, there was an undeniable air of mystery that came from the fact that their faces were hidden in the shadows created from paint of colors in nearly every hue but dark in shade.

A strange sense of nostalgia filled the gray-haired youth as he continued gazing at the masterpiece before–

Go~n…

Go~n…

Go~n…

–he stiffened imperceptibly when the bell tolled thrice.

_Well… Damn._

Yu deadpanned at how quiet it suddenly was.

_I'm late, aren't I?_

The emptiness of his surroundings answered him and he groaned with a hint of irritation, inwardly cursing at how scatterbrained he could be, before he shook his head and made his way over to the bulletin boards. Gray eyes flickered over the many, _many_ names that filled the surface and twitched upon being unable to find his own. His nose flared unnoticeably as he breathed deeply to calm himself before taking another look.

A slightly off-colored piece of paper now stood out against the white sheet of names.

Taking a closer look, Yu finally found his name and smiled in relief before noticing…

_The Velvet Room?_

His brows furrowed in confusion.

_Is that supposed to be my homeroom?_

Unsure of where to go, he walked over to the vacant receptionist desk and looked around before noticing the small golden bell that sat on top.

He tapped it and a ting sounded.

As if on cue, something flickered from out of the corner of his eyes, making Yu jerk towards it in surprise, before–

_…the hell?_

–he stared blankly at the blue designs that _glowed_ against the black floor, leading up the short staircase and ramp.

_Oookaaay… Someone's being a creeper here…_

Regardless, Yu couldn't help but feel intrigued and followed the signs up the slope before noticing that it turned down the left hallway. Curious as to what laid the other way, he took a look and saw familiar tags that specified first-year homerooms along with two elevators. Sated for the moment, the young man returned to his quest and began walking down the unbelievably winding path, raising a brow at the series of paintings that decorated the cream-colored walls and depicted the 22 major arcana of tarot (unturned on the left and upside-down on the right), before he faltered. A glance behind and forward confirmed his suspicions.

The corridor was darkening.

He gulped, unease creeping up in his chest, and tightened his grip around the strap of his bag before shaking his head roughly and carrying on with just a hint of hesitation. But that indecision abruptly fled from him as he saw light in the distance. Finally, _finally_, he stopped before a pair of double doors.

_Gee…_ He thought with little amusement. _I wonder what Creeper's favorite color is?_

His lips twisted into a half-grimace-half-smile hybrid of an expression as gray eyes gazed upon the azure gateway before him.

_And how the hell does it glow like that?_

Alas, his question shall remained unanswered as the doors gave way at the first touch of his hand upon the metal knob and opened smoothly.

What greeted him was…

His eye twitched.

…blue.

_You have _got_ to be kidding me…_

Everything, from the walls to the ceiling to the carpeted floor and furniture, was of some variation of the same aquatic color as the very signs that led him there.

_…Obsessed, Creeper is._

Pushing back Yoda–err–the urge to bolt right then and there, Yu took a deep breath and stepped forward.

A soft click signaled that the doors had closed behind him but the young man didn't notice as he stared at the strange clock that hung above the full wall window overlooking the sports field.

_It's… broken._ The hands spun endlessly. _Definitely._

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," a gravelly voice greeted him, "My name is Igor."

His attention immediately shifted to the speaker sitting behind the grand desk and Yu fought the urge to shuffle awkwardly under the gaze of those bloodshot eyes. The well-dressed old man before him was…_bizarre_… in a word with his comically long nose and eerily toothy smile. It was as if he'd been expecting the youth.

_Creeper Alert!_ His mind blared out the alarm. _Get out of there before all is forever lost!_

"Yu Narukami," he responded – _Shut up and run, fool! RUN!_ – and bowed, "It's nice to meet you."

His grin widened as Igor tilted his head. "I too am delighted to make your acquaintance."

_…And there goes any chance of staying untainted._

Yu punted his snarky side to the back of his mind and gave a polite smile. "So… Who exactly are you? And what is this… Velvet Room?"

As he spoke, the young man took a closer look at his surroundings. The left wall was essentially a bookcase, filled with volumes of knowledge in various languages, while the right side contained cabinets of (most likely) official records. Off to one corner was…something…covered up by a white sheet.

_A mirror maybe?_ Yu guessed from its flatness. _Although why he'd need one here at all is beyond me…_

His thoughts trailed off as he finally realized that he was not alone with the dwarfish man.

Sitting on the silky sofa, one on either side of the lace-covered coffee table, were three obviously related people – one man and two women – who could easily pass off as models with their extraordinary beauty. Each had platinum-colored locks and strange, but no less captivating, gold eyes along with flawless pale skin. Their attendant-like uniforms were – surprise, surprise – blue (and black) in color.

_Well,_ Yu bit back a cheeky grin, _Methinks the answer's become obvious._

…before he mentally smacked himself and stuffed Snarky into a chest.

"Ah, yes," Igor spoke with a nod, "I suppose I should have been more clear in my introduction. My name is Igor…" His hands folded beneath his nose. "I am the proprie–ah, excuse me–_headmaster_ of Arcana Academy. I welcome you warmly."

_Ah, yes,_ Snarky popped the lid back open, _This is _such_ a warm welcome. Why, I'm practically _toasty_ by now…!_

Yu shoved his inner sarcasm back into its prison as his smile twitched ever so slightly.

Ignoring (or perhaps not noticing) his new student's vaguely strained expression, Igor waved a gloved hand to gesture around him. "This place, the Velvet Room, exists between dream and reality, mind and matter…"

Yu deadpanned. "That makes zero sense." _Unless you're talking about Cartesian dualism, in which case–_ Snarky was beat back into the box.

"…and is my office," Igor continued unheedingly, "Should you ever need help, do not hesitate to enter, dear guest–that is–_student_. We are here to aid you on your journey… of scholarly pursuit, of course."

Before Snarky could make another comeback, Yu firmly locked the chest and sat on it… in his mind, of course.

Just then, the woman with long wavy hair pulled back by a hairband stepped forward with a smile that mirrored his own politeness. "My name is Margaret. I serve as the vice-headmistress of Arcana Academy. If there are any academic issues, please come to me and we shall address it together."

The short-haired one, who wore a bellhop's hat (for reasons unknown to him), followed up with a kittenish grin full of mischief. "My name is Elizabeth and I serve as head nurse to the school grounds. It is quite a pleasure to meet you…" Her eyes glinted. "Do visit _whenever_, yes?"

A chill ran up his spine as Yu resisted the urge to backpedal away from the female, wondering, _Why did that sound like a threat?_

But he couldn't muse on whether or not her words had been full of sadism as the final adult – the only male amongst the attractive siblings – placed a hand over his chest and tilted his head in greeting. "My name is Theodore and, as counselor of this establishment, it is my duty to assist you in every way possible, personal or otherwise."

_…Can I leave now?_

Unfortunately, no matter how much he wanted to, Yu's inner-crocodile-masculinity was too low of a level to ask that question.*

"Now then…" Igor gestured to a vacancy. "Why not take a seat?"

With a stiff nod, the young man did as he was told and sat on the chair at the end of the coffee table and closest to the door. It was cushiony and had armrests and the backrest reminded him a bit of a butterfly's wings. His bag was placed on the floor beside him.

Once he was situated, Igor snapped his fingers and suddenly a deck of cards appeared in the middle of the table, shuffling before being dealt out facedown.

_Magic?_ Yu's brows raised. _So Creeper and his helpers have some tricks up their sleeves, huh…_

It was then that he noticed the design decorating the back of each card and subconsciously raised a hand to brush his fingers against his breast pocket. _It's the same as the school emblem…_

Their lips curled into a secretive smile.

"Tell me, have you ever had your fortune read before?" Igor asked rhetorically, "No? Then let us see what the future holds for you…"

Another snap of his fingers caused a card to flip over and reveal a jester laughing as he stood at the edge of a cliff with a dog accompanying him.

"Ah… The Fool," chuckled the bizarre man, "He whose number represents limitless potential, who represents the beginning of a journey, who is both divine inspiration and…" He grinned. "_Madness_."

Yu stiffened ever so slightly as Snarky's jail shuddered. _(Yes, yes– But you would have to be half-mad to dream me up.)_**

But Igor showed no sign of acknowledging the teenager's discomfort as he snapped his fingers again and another card flipped over, revealing a wheel with a golden arrow and surrounded by various animals that alternated between wearing wealthy clothes or beggarly ones.

"Fortune," he continued, peering at it with keen interest, "It is a representation of fate and varying luck, of sudden events and new developments, of possibilities and…" His eyes gleamed. "Opportunities."

_Opportunities…?_ Gray eyes flickered before narrowing in puzzlement. _Red…_

Yu was unable to ruminate on that as the third card flipped over to reveal a heart in the direct center of a tree with the silhouette of a man to the bottom left and that of a woman on the opposite side.

"Alas, the Lovers," Igor almost exclaimed as he leaned over his desk, "Many paths lay before you and many decisions must be made but you will be at a crossroad. Which choice is right? Which is wrong?" He calmed and returned to his initial position. "The answer will come to light with your actions… and your inactions as well."

Silence, not quite tense but certainly far from relaxed, reigned over them for a few beats as Yu tried to wrap his mind around what he was just told before a movement from the elderly gentleman snapped him back to attention.

"It would appear that we've kept you long enough," Igor hummed as he placed the pocket watch away, "Your journey here at Arcana Academy has only just begun so do not fret too much over the reading." His voice lowered. "Although, I truly do wonder what the future has in stored for you…" But before the teenager could respond to that, the bizarre old man gestured to his assistants. "If you would please…"

Margaret nodded in understanding and turned to hand an envelope over to Yu, explaining succinctly, "Inside, you will find your class schedule alongside detailed information that may prove useful for your year here. There is also a note that will excuse your tardiness today."

"Granted, most of it you probably already know from our past correspondences and this…ceremony…of sorts is a tradition of ours," Elizabeth added airily, "New students have always been invited into the Velvet Room on their first day so your teacher should already know but…"

"It is better to be safe than sorry," Theodore said kindly, "Adjusting to turning points in life can be difficult and thus this was established in order for students such as yourself to feel more welcome here at Arcana Academy."

"Indeed," Igor laughed softly, "It has been quite some time since I had last welcomed a guest." His gaze seemed to have softened. "And she was – is – a fairly remarkable student. I wonder…" Bloodshot eyes abruptly sharpened. "Will your paths cross? Will your fates intertwine?" Hands folded beneath his long nose. "Regardless of what may happen, do take care to remember this…" Teeth flashed in a grin. "The consequences of your actions are yours to bear." Yu tensed. "Until we meet again… Farewell…"

"Thank you," the newly initiated mumbled as he stood, tightening his grip on the envelope, and grabbed his bag, bowing a bit stiffly, "Bye then…"

And with that said, he hightailed it out of the Velvet Room.

_Note to self: _never_ bother returning there._ He made a face. _Unless I _want_ to actually go mad, that is._

A sigh left his lips as Yu ran his fingers through his hair before he blinked rapidly in surprise. The sunlight that shined through the windows had momentarily blinded him before he realized that his feet had already carried him back to the main hallway. With a shrug, the young man decided that it was a good time to take a breather and swiftly opened the envelope.

_Dear Yu Narukami,_

_We are pleased to welcome you to Arcana Academy. Along with this letter, you will find– Blah, blah, blah…_

Ignoring the letter of introduction, Yu flipped past the calendar, the list of important dates and the pamphlet of clubs and activities before pulling out the school map and his aforementioned schedule.

_Classroom 3-B, huh…_

He walked down the hallway and paused, briefly debating which way to go, before deciding to take the staircase up to the third floor–

_I'm already late, so a few more minutes won't hurt._

–until he finally reached the door with the appropriate label.

"–Magician, as number one, is commonly associated with action, initiative, self-confidence, manipulation and power to harness one's talents–"

Knocking on wood, Yu cut the speaker off and slowly opened the door, trailing his eyes over his soon-to-be classmates before perking up (just a bit) with a smile upon seeing a familiar face.

Yosuke returned his grin.

"Hoh? Why, hello there," a feminine voice practically purred, "What an _honor_ it must be as the first late student in my class this year. Well, I do hope that you have a very good excuse for your tardiness… So? What's your name?"

Looking over at the purple-skirt-wearing woman, Yu smiled thinly –_ She looks questionable._ – and held out the note. "I just transferred here."

She raised a thin brow and uncrossed before recrossing her covered legs, taking and reading the excuse that Margaret had prepared. "I see…" Her shoulder-length light brown hair was flipped over her shoulders as her arms crossed under her abundant chest, pushing it up and slightly out of her pink collared shirt in a suggestive manner. "In that case, I'll let you off easy today, but…" Her brown eyes lowered sultrily. "If this happens again, we'll be spending a _long_ time after school."

Yu twitched – _Sorry, crones aren't on my to-do list._ – but successfully bit back the urge to retort aloud and nodded instead.

"With that said– My name is Noriko Kashiwagi, your homeroom adviser and biology teacher (though that class won't start until later in the day)," she said before gesturing in front of her, "Now then, why don't you be a good boy and introduce yourself to your classmates…"

Turning to face them, Yu exhaled slowly to calm himself and bowed once. "My name is Yu Narukami. It is nice to meet you all–"

"And now that that's over," Noriko clapped to return attention to herself, "Take a seat next to… Ah! Yosuke Hanamura, raise your hand."

Said brunet did as he was told until Yu slipped into his assigned seat and discreetly bumped fists with his newfound friend.

"Anyway, having gone over a bit of the Major Arcane, let's play a game," the voluptuous woman started as her gaze swept the room, "Hanamura, since you're suddenly looking awake, why don't you tell me which arcana comes after The Fool…?"

_Shit! _Yosuke blanched, sweating a bit when he was pinned by her smoldering eyes. _I totally zoned out before…!_

Noticing the male's panic, Yu furrowed his brows in thought as he took out his notebook and a pen before abruptly remembering and quickly scribbling the answer down.

A swift kick to the his chair caused the brunet to jump a bit and his eyes darted over to the gray-haired youth before lighting up upon seeing the page tilted towards his direction.

"The Magician!" Yosuke almost squeaked, "That's, uh, number one! …Right?"

"…That is correct," Noriko said, casting a suspicious look between the two, before moving on, "The Magician is indeed represented by the number one. As I said before, it tends to be associated with–"

As her lecture continued, Yosuke ducked a bit and whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "Thanks, partner. I owe you one."

His lips lifted into a smile and Yu nodded in reply before both straightened when the student in front of him was called on.

_"Partner," huh…_ His heart warmed. _I like the sound of that._

And so time passed…

* * *

**[Lunchtime]**

* * *

…until Yu found himself sitting on the fountain's ledge and listening to the sound of water as it flowed from the decorative spout. He idly fingered the cloth that wrapped his bento as his gaze swept across the courtyard. Various students were milling around, generally enjoying themselves, and the weather would have been perfect for a picnic but, alas, school was still in session.

Nonetheless, he was content as gray eyes continued observing his surroundings before they landed on one particular brunette.

_That's…!_

He straightened, watching the red-eyed young woman from earlier this morning speak with a ash-brown-curly-haired peer, before tilting his head in thought.

_She looks worried…_

Suddenly, the back of his neck prickled and he stiffened.

_What the…?!_

Slowly turning his head, Yu caught sight of a group of girls huddled together under the shade of a tree, peeking over at him every now and then and whispering behind their hands.

_…Yosuke wasn't kidding, was he?_ He sweated. _I can literally _feel_ their stares…_

Deciding that it was in his best interest to appear oblivious, the gray-haired youth attempted to ignore those who eyed him as if he were "fresh meat" and turned back to the subject of his interest…

_Huh?_

…only to find that she and her friend had disappeared off to somewhere during his distracted stated.

Feeling a bit disappointed, he heaved a sigh and leaned back on his palms before–

"Big Bro~!"

–her cheerful voice made him perk up and smile at the sight of his adorable cousin jogging towards him with her own boxed lunch in hand.

"Sorry I'm late," she said apologetically, panting a bit, "Were you waiting long?"

Yu shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I was just taking in the sights." _Although I could do without the hyenas…_

He then patted the empty spot beside him and Nanako eagerly sat down, setting aside her bento, before she glanced around curiously and asked, "Senpai's not eating with us?"

Realizing whom she was referring to, the young man parted his lips to speak when–

"Heeeeeeyyy~!"

_Speak of the devil,_ Yu smirked, _And he shall appear._

–Yosuke called out to them while waving excitedly as a vaguely familiar blur circled around him and dogged his every step.

"Sorry about ditching you when the bell rang," the brunet said when he got within range, "I promised to meet up with this–" He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "–brat at the start of lunch."

The "brat" (as Yosuke called him) was a young man, a first-year high schooler according to his uniform, with bright blue eyes that seemed to glow and golden-blond locks that were swept to the side and spiked out a bit. He was dressed impeccably, almost sparkling beneath the midday sun, though the first buttons were left open and he had a white rose adorn his breast pocket as an accessory.

"How rude!" The newcomer was pouting exaggeratedly. "Is that any way to address your adorably, bear-rific and beastly younger brother who scores more than you?!"

Nanako blinked innocently. "Bear…rific…? Beastly…? Scores…?"

Vein throbbing, Yosuke elbowed the younger male and hissed, "Dude! Ixnay on the unspay and angslay!"***

Yu simply raised a brow, amused by their antics, before he patted the girl's head and chuckled. "So I suppose this is Teddie?"

Hearing his name, the blond turned to him with a jolly smile. "That's right! I'm Teddie Kumada. A pleasure…?"

"Yu Narukami, and likewise," he answered with a handshake before nudging his cousin forward, "And this is my little sister, Nanako Dojima."

Similarly to Yosuke, Teddie didn't even bat an eye at their differing surnames and instead cooed over the girl's cuteness. "It's _bear_-y nice to meet ya, Nana-chan!"

His brother groaned and face-palmed, clearly exasperated, as she giggled and bowed politely. "It's nice to meet you too, Kumada-senpai."

"Just call me Teddie," the blond chirped, waving away whatever protests she was about to make and declaring, "We're friends now so there's no need to be so _fur_-mal, heehee!"

(By now, Yosuke was knocking his head against Yu's shoulders, whimpering, "Why me? Why must I put up with these terrible puns? Was it be-claws I– Oh god, please tell me I didn't just _say_ that! Did I finally get _infected_…?! Fuuuuuu–")

"Then… Teddie-senpai?" Nanako questioned, completely oblivious to all but the blond, "We're really friends?"

"Y~eppers," he nodded happily before faltering, "Unless… You don't want to be…?"

"H-Huh?! N-No! Of _course_ I want to be friends!" She beamed up at him. "So this means we can hang out from now on, right? We can go to Junes after school!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Teddie bounced with joy. "And we can share Topsicles and yakitori and– Oh! There's this special that goes on every–"

The younger pair were practically emitting flowers and love as they continued chatting about anything and everything, completely forgetting about their lunches.

Luckily, their big brothers were there to make sure they ate before the bell rang!

* * *

**After school…**

* * *

Stretching out his arms, Yu rolled his shoulders several times to work out the kinks that had built up during the seemingly endless hours of lectures.

"Finally," Yosuke sighed as he slouched over his desk, "I can stop thinking now!"

A chuckle left his lips as the gray-haired male relaxed and leaned back against his chair. "Says the one who snored through history class."

"Gurk!" The brunet clutched at his chest. "You got me! It was…a fatality…! Ugh…"

He slumped over "dead" and Yu declared dramatically, "And now I am off to tame the legendary gold bear and save my dearest princess from his beastly claws~!"

Sadly, the play was interrupted as Yosuke snorted unattractively and, soon enough, the pair bursted out into laughter, causing several laggers to shoot odd looks at them.

"Ahaha~! That was so random!" The brunet chortled. "But, y'know, in reality, Teddie goes down real fast. Like, with a single _tap_, if you can believe that!"

"Seriously?" Yu raised a brow in bemusement. "Huh… I might have to try that one day…"

"Please don't." Yosuke grimaced a bit. "Otherwise, _my_ ears will suffer from his bawling."

_…that just makes it all the more tempting._

But the gray-haired youth kindly kept that thought to himself and stood alongside his friend.

"Oh by the way," Yosuke started as he slipped on his backpack, "I forgot to ask during lunch but… Do you and Nanako-chan want to walk home with me and Teddie? We can drop by Junes on the way, like she was talking about earlier."

"Sounds good to me," Yu replied with a carefree shrug, "I want to pick up some–"

Bam!

They jumped at the surprisingly loud sound and turned to see a familiar brunette leaning against the doorway, panting.

"Please…"

Her voice quivered.

"Can you help me?"

* * *

*The term "inner-crocodile-masculinity" was coined by SuperJeenius on YouTube and refers to one's courage.

**"Yes, yes– But you would have to be half-mad to dream me up." –– The Mad Hatter, _Alice in Wonderland_ (2010/1)

***Pig Latin: "Nix on the puns and slang." Haha, Teddie just got scolded for being, well, _Teddie_. Poor guy.

* * *

**AN**: And now words from my partner!

**Gin Nanashi:** Ah~ This took waaay longer than I'd expected... Sorry about the delay but, hopefully, y'all like the way I portrayed Yu in this. If not, then... Well, I guess it's a good thing mind-reading is impossible! Because, seriously, that's how my brain works at times... *sweats* It's not schizophrenia. It's just being..._highly_ imaginative. Heh. :P


	3. Everyday's Great

**Author's Note**: Welcome back! Sorry for taking long. Please understand? 625 or 645 I wonder. Read the chapter to know what I mean! ;3. Review too please? Enjoy! Thanks to my partner for editing!

* * *

_"Please…"_

_Her beautiful crimson orbs glistened pitifully at him as crystalline tears clung to long, dark lashes._

_"Can you help me?"_

_And he, in all of his undeniably glorified sexiness, waltzed over to her petite form before reaching out to take her soft hands into his and–_

_For the love of all things awesome– Am I _really_ imagining this crap?!_

Yu resisted the urge to react visibly as Snarky bashed his wand of punishment against the boney walls of his prison.

_Dispel the brain-melting mockery that is shoujo-romance and keep your cool lest your already non-existent reputation goes down the god-forsaken drain…!_

He took a deep breath, brow twitching imperceptibly, before directing a charming, albeit stiff, smile at the newcomer and asking, "Is something the matter?"

_She still has her clip at least,_ Yu thought, eyeing the azure butterfly that kept her hair up in a stylish ponytail.

As if sensing his gaze on it, the young woman brushed her fingers against her hair clip and blushed, averting her gaze from the taller male to the other one.

"Yeah," Yosuke jumped in, oblivious to their momentary interaction and thoroughly interested in the brunette, "I've never seen you so flustered before, Mi-Mi. What happened?"

"Mimi…?" Yu echoed, tilting his head to look at the brunette who flushed a deep red, "Are you two together?"

"N-NO!" The horrified look that overcame her face was amusingly exaggerated. "I would NEVER…!"

"Gee…" Yosuke deadpanned. "Thanks for the confidence boost…"

She sputtered for a moment, cheeks darkening ever further and arms flailing in a panic, before finally deflating and smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, Yo-Yo. I could've worded that more tactfully…"

But the mahogany-haired male simply waved it off and threw an arm around her shoulders, grinning at Yu. "So, anyway–! Yu Narukami, meet Minako Yuki from class 3-A…" They exchanged greetings. "…or Mi-Mi as I call her. She also goes by Miss President, Ko-tan, Ham-Ham and Minato–OOF!"

Yosuke hunched over, clutching at his sides where Minako had elbowed him sharply, and groaned, "Ooh, my kidneys…! What was that for, Mi-Mi…?!"

"Hmph," she huffed, turning away and crossing her arms over her chest, "Be grateful that I didn't kick you in the balls like Satonaka-san would!"

Said teen paled in remembrance and Yu couldn't help but wince in sympathy.

_I don't care what they say – the Nutcracker is _not_ a prince!_

"S-So…" Yu cleared his throat and regained his composure, looking between the two. "You're good friends…?"

Minako startled for a second before relaxing with a bright smile on her lips. "Yep! Yo-Yo's like my little brother!"

"Yup. She totally abuses me, bro," Yosuke sighed heavily before ducking under her swipe with a grin, "Hah! Missed!"

A light kick to the back of his knees caused him to yelp as he toppled over face first.

"Tsk, tsk," Minako tutted as she smirked and wagged a finger at the downed brunet, "Dirt can't possibly be _that_ tasty, Hana-chan~!"

"Gah! Not that nickname again!" Yosuke whined as he pushed himself up, "Do you know how hard it was to get everyone to stop calling me that last year?!"

"B-But–!" Her lips trembled ever so slightly as she widened her eyes and tilted her head just a bit in an innocent manner. "Hana-chan's _such_ a cute nickname!"

"Yeah, cute," he drawled in a sarcastic manner, "And I suppose that I'm the epitome of adorableness that makes clouds vomit rainbows and fairies sprinkle sparkles as well…!"

That made Minako pause in thought. "Well…"

"Oh, for the love of–!" Yosuke threw his arms up in frustration. "Do I look like a girl to you?! I mean, look at me!" He puffed out his chest. "I'm waaaaaay too manly to be called something so…so…so obviously _girly_!"

Crimson orbs trailed to meet with achromatic ones in an exchange of amusement before Yu hummed, "I don't know… Style your hair and add a bit of make-up…"

"And you'd look pretty nice in a red skirt," Minako chirped with a small grin.

"Well, I suppose I could– HEY!" His temple throbbed as Yosuke squished the brunette's cheeks together. "Quit trying to get me to cross-dress! Do I look like some okama?!"

Struggling out of his grip, the red-eyed female blew a raspberry at the mahogany-haired male. "Nyeh~! It's _your_ fault for pulling that stunt last year!"

That caused Yosuke's shoulders to slump in defeat as he moaned, "Oh god, please don't remind me…"

Yu simply raised a brow in curiosity – _I sense blackmail material to be found…_ – before deciding that enough was enough and that they should all get back on track. "So, Yuki-san, what did you need help with?"

"Minako's fine," she replied cheerfully before the rest of his words caught up to her and she sobered, "Ah… Well… To be honest… My team's in a bit of a pinch right now…"

"Team…?" Yu blinked before Yosuke bopped a fist against his palm in realization. "Oh! You mean the Chess Club, right?"

"Yeah!" She nodded happily before deflating sheepishly. "So, um, you know that chess isn't exactly popular here, right?"

That, Yu thought, was a bit of an understatement considering that Japan favored shogi, the most popular of chess variants native to the country, with go being another well-known board game.

At his nod, she continued. "Because of that, our club only has five members, which usually isn't a problem since that's the minimum required anyway, but…" She grimaced. "One of us got sick and everyone I've asked has something planned for the day of the exhibition match so…" Her eyes pleaded with his. "Help?"

_…Seriously?_ Snarky deadpanned as Yu twitched. _Arc's got, what, over a thousand students? And the high school branch has almost four hundred alone! And she _really_ can't find _anyone_…?! …Oy vey._

As if reading his mind, Yosuke raised a brow. "Are you for real, Mi-Mi? _Everyone_ you know's busy?"

She frowned with a hint of a pout and began ticking off a mental checklist. "Yuka-tan's leader of the Archery Club, Fuu-chan's helping out Hiraga-kun with the Photography Club, Odagiri-kun's busy with the Disciplinary Committee, Chihiro-chan still panics with boys outside of the Student Council, Yuko-chan and Miyamoto-kun's got the Kendo Club to worry about, Rio-chan's in charge of the Volleyball Club, J–"

"Okay, okay! We get that y'all are overachievers," Yosuke interrupted before heaving a sigh, "Geez… So I'm going out on a limb and guessing that someone's dropping out of Chess Club or something?"

"Or something, indeed," Minako sulked, "And she's not dropping out! Saki-chan just caught the stomach bug so–"

"Wait, what– For real?!" His voice pitched. "Is she okay?! You did tell her to drink lots of fluids, right?!"

Her eyes rolled skyward. "Yes, Yo-Yo, I did and she's fine. Or rather, she'll be fine. The worst of it passed this morning but she still needs rest so I told her to stay home for today and tomorrow and even the day after…just in case."

Brown eyes blinked twice. "Oh… Well, that explains why I didn't see her at lunchtime…"

A sigh left her lips before Minako turned to the quiet male. "Anyway, Narukami-san, I was hoping that you'd be free to attend in her place." A pause before she plowed on. "I mean, I know that it's really abrupt and unfair of me to push this onto you when you've just transferred in but… Please!" She bowed deeply to him. "I'll make it up to you one day, I swear! And you don't even need to win your match since it's just for fun and publicity!"

For a moment, Yu was silent, simply thinking on the request, before he slowly spoke, "Well… I don't mind but… Why don't you just ask Yosuke to help? You're friends, after all."

At the sound of his name, said teen perked up and nodded vigorously. "Hey– Yeah! That's right, Mi-Mi! I'd love to help out!"

Minako raised a brow at that before deadpanning. "I recall a certain someone promising another certain someone that he'd pay her back soon for that broken DVD by working extra hard tomorrow."

"Gurk!" Yosuke froze before wilting in depression. "Oh… Oh, yeah… That… Ahaha… Haha… Ha… I'm doomed…"

Hiding his amusement, Yu patted him on the shoulder before nodding to the brunette. "Don't worry. I'll help you out. When does the exhibition start?"

As if Christmas came early, her eyes lit up as she grabbed his hands and shook them eagerly. "Oh, thank you so much, Narukami-san! I'll definitely pay you back one day!" She then rummaged through her bag and pulled out a booklet, giving it to him. "Here! This'll explain how to play chess at its most basic level."

Gingerly, Yu took it and flipped through it, skimming the colorful pages and quirking a smile at how nostalgically childish it was if the crayon depictions were any indication.

"And the match itself will start at ten in the morning so come around half an hour beforehand, okay?"

The way she clasped her hands over her chest and gazed imploringly up at him caused his heart to thump just a bit harder than normal but he nodded nonetheless. "Aa, I'll be there for sure."

Pink dusting her cheeks, Minako smiled beautifully and bowed deeply once again. "Thank you again for doing this, Narukami-san. I–"

The sound of music cut her off and she jumped a bit, giving the two an apologetic look before rummaging through her bag to pull out a simplistically elegant red-and-silver cellphone.

Yu exchanged curious looks with Yosuke when she grimaced at the caller ID before they straightened when she turned to them.

"Sorry, Yo-Yo, Narukami-san, but I've got to go before he panics." A hasty bow was sketched. "I'll see you tomorrow so goodbye for now~!"

With that said, the brunette rushed out of the room as her hushed words to the caller faded away with each quieting step.

_…And there she goes._

A silent sigh left his lips as Yu shook his head and placed the booklet into his breast pocket before stretching luxuriously. "We should get going too. Nanako will get worried if she waits too long."

"No kidding?" Yosuke mimicked his partner and rolled his shoulders a few times. "Teddie would just run off and find something to occupy himself with."

"Really?" They began making their way downstairs. "Like what?"

"Well, this one time, he decided that it'd be fun to roll across the courtyard and–"

* * *

**Arcana Academy – Front Gates**

* * *

"Oh! Big Bro! Hanamura-senpai! Over here!"

Achromatic eyes shifted towards the speaker and Yu smiled at the sight of his cousin and their blond friend bouncing up and down and waving happily at him and Yosuke before he raised his own hand to wave back.

"Hey, Nanako, Teddie," Yu greeted as he accepted a hug from the girl, "Sorry for making you two wait so long."

"It's okay, Big Bro," Nanako chirped, resting her chin against his stomach, "Me and Teddie were just talking about his job at Junes."

"Yuppers! It's bear-y fur-filling!" Teddie added before yelping when Yosuke pushed his head down and ruffled his hair roughly, "AH! Noooooo~! Not my beautiful mane! Yooosssuuukeee~!"

Said male simply rolled his eyes before grinning over at the girl. "So, Nanako-chan, your Big Bro and I were just talking about heading to Junes. You're coming, right? We can do our homework together and grab a bite to eat as well."

And like a flower in sunshine, she perked up with excitement. "Really?!" She turned to her cousin pleadingly. "Can we go, Big Bro? Pleeeaaase?"

Smiling, Yu chuckled and patted her head. "Of course. I'll just text Uncle about being back late."

"Yay~!" Nanako cheered, throwing her arms up. "Everyday's great at your Junes~!"

Soon enough, she and Teddie began singing the jingle together as they locked hands and skipped down the road with joy.

_Ah, I think I can see them sparkling now._

Amused, Yu shook his head and followed after them after texting Ryotaro (to which, the response was a stern, "Be back before 7; I'll be late so grab dinner for yourselves") as Yosuke groaned about how "Teddie should _seriously_ act his age and _not_ his shoe size" before sighing softly.

"Oh well," the mahogany-haired teen murmured, "I guess I should just be grateful that he's so chipper nowadays…"

Curious gray eyes flickered over to the slightly shorter male. "What do you mean?"

"Huh?!" Yosuke jerked as if he'd forgotten about the other before rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Oh, um, well…" He hesitated. "Let's just say that things weren't always so great…"

There was a flicker of darkness in his eyes that caused Yu to be taken aback but the gray-haired youth didn't press any further and swiftly changed subjects.

"So how long have you known Minako-san?"

Grateful for the subject change, Yosuke relaxed before grinning impishly. "Ohoho~? What's this? Are you _interested_ in Mi-Mi~?"

His fingers twitched around the handle of his bag before Yu responded airily, "Who knows~? But I _am_ interested this 'stunt' you did last year~…"

At that, the mahogany-haired male tripped and performed a magnificent face-plant, causing Yu to grin almost maniacally, before Yosuke scrambled to his feet and practically shrieked, "_HELL_ NO! I ain't never, ever, EVER – and I do mean, NEVER – gonna speak _one_ word of that horribly _awful_ event EVER!" He shuddered (not so) dramatically. "Oh, the nightmares I had for weeks…"

Yu raised a brow as his eyes glinted mischievously. "Hm…" _Methinks an investigation is warranted…_

Even so, a soft laugh left the gray-haired male's lips as he shook his head and seemed to dismiss the topic, making Yosuke sigh in relief, before they broke from further conversation as Teddie shouted for them to hurry up. The sound of a whistle blowing indicated the arrival of their train and the two were spurred into a flurry of action. Nanako couldn't help but giggle when their older brothers barely made it through the doors and slumped to the floor, prompting an overhead warning reminiscent of that morning's.

As the younger two seated and engaged in an enthusiastic conversation about the wonders of _Phoenix Ranger Featherman R_, Yu and Yosuke fell into a comfortable silence…

"Hey, Yu?"

…for all but five minutes, anyway.

"Hm…?"

Looking over at the mahogany-haired teen, Yu noticed that he was torn between acting serious and joking around before settling on some strange hybrid of the two.

"I was kind of, y'know, serious about wanting to know if you're interested in Mi-Mi or not," Yosuke said at last as he fiddled with his headphones, "I mean, she's a good friend of mine and she really is like a sister to me so…"

He trailed off but Yu could easily fill in the blanks.

"…Don't worry," the gray-haired male answered, leaning against the pole, "Hurting her is not something I'd want to do."

And Yosuke fell silent, ruminating on that for a long moment as the train rumbled on, before he finally sighed, "Yeah… I don't know why but it feels like I can trust you on that."

Yu blinked but couldn't respond as Yosuke punched his arm and grinned cheekily. "In any case, I'll be your wingman so have no fear! She'll be wrapped around your pinkie in no time!"

"What, what?" Teddie abruptly appeared between them. "Who'll have whom wrapped around their pinkie?"

"Argh!" The brunet jerked backwards and hissed upon smacking his head against the doors. "Damn it, Teddie! Don't _do_ that!"

"Waaaaaah~!" The blond flailed in his brother's headlock. "Help meeeeee~! Nana-chan! Senpai! Yosuke's gonna _eat_ meeeeee~!"

Yu could only sigh at the scene.

_This is going to be a thing, isn't it?_

* * *

**Junes – Food Court**

* * *

"Ba–dada–da–dadada–dadum~…"

Nanako hummed cheerfully to the theme song that played on continuous loop in the background as she carefully wrote down her dreams for the future. The characters were a bit on the larger side and spaced farther apart than they should be but they were legible. In fact, her handwriting was surprisingly neat for her age! But the flowers and stars and what-not that decorated the borders of the page on the other hand…

Yu sweated. _Art _really_ isn't Nanako's strong point._

Regardless, she deserved an A+ for effort.

Shaking his head, the gray-haired male looked across from his cousin to see Teddie gazing intently at his copy of _Genji Monogatari_ as he poked his tongue out of the corner of his lips and flipped through the pages at a steady but startlingly quick pace.*

_…That can't even be considered skimming, can it?_

Yu shook his head again and turned back to his own homework – calculus – before noticing the distracted look on Yosuke's face as he tapped his pencil against the table and gnawed the straw of his soda.

Raising a brow, Yu discreetly nudged his friend's foot with his own and asked, "Need help?"

"Hm? Nah~, I'm fine," Yosuke responded with a wave of his hand, "I was just thinking about your match tomorrow." He frowned. "I wonder if you'll meet him…"

"'Him'?" Yu echoed. _Could it be that "he" that Minako-san mentioned…?_

But the mahogany-haired teen simply shrugged. "Never mind. It's not that important and besides– What are the chances?"

Before Yu could say anything else, Yosuke turned back to his homework and asked, "By the way, what year did the Taika Reform take place again?"

"Taika Alive in 645," came his automatic answer.

"Right, right. I forgot about that pneumonic device," the brunet laughed softly, "Thanks, partner!"

With that said, Yosuke immersed himself in the wonderful world of history as Yu gave a silent sigh, understanding that the other didn't want to talk anymore about the mysterious male who has yet to be given a name.

_But whoever he is,_ he couldn't help but think, _He can't be Minako-san's boyfriend._

Because there was no way that Yosuke would act the way he did and offer to be Yu's wingman if she was already taken.

_Unless "he" refers to her ex, anyway…_

"And done!"

Yu snapped out of his conjectures as Nanako happily showed him her paper just as Teddie snapped his book closed and jumped out of his seat, cheering,

"YYYEEESSS~! Food awaits!"

"Dude, you _just_ had three platters of steak," Yosuke deadpanned, "And as kind as I am, I ain't buying you any more."

Immediately, the blond began whining and badgering his "ever-so generous and bear-y handsome (though not as awesome as _moi_) big brother" to buy him a "little, itsy-bitsy, bite-sized treat that absotively, posilutely won't spoil dinnertime in any which way" – now complete with clinging and exaggerated sobbing along with dramatic declarations.

Yu chuckled at their antics as he slipped his finished work into his bag and stood up, stretching out his tense muscles, before turning to his cousin and asking, "What do you want for dinner, Nanako? We'll buy something to go."

"Um…" She tapped her chin in thought before brightening up. "How about croquette?"

"Croquette?" Yosuke piped up as he finally released Teddie, "If you want that, then I'd suggest going to Souzai Daigaku. It's pretty much their specialty."

"Oh, oh!" The blonde soon interrupted. "Make sure you get the one with grilled steak! It's _super_ yummy!"

"Can't deny that." Yosuke nodded solemnly. "Ah, my mouth's watering just thinking about it!"

"And I guess that settles it then," Yu chuckled, "We'll buy some rice and side dishes here before heading over there."

Nanako beamed.

* * *

**Dojima Residence**

* * *

After buying dinner, Yu and Nanako said their farewells to their new friends in front of Souzai Daigaku before making their way home as the sun slowly descended in the distance, darkening the sky as nighttime approaches and stars began to glitter alongside the moon.

Ryotaro was, as he'd texted Yu, unavailable that night but that didn't put a damper on their mood as they switched on the television and chatted over dinner about everything and nothing before cleaning up.

"I'm going to change the channel, okay, Big Bro?" Nanako asked as Yu swiped the cartons into the trash.

Tying the bag, the gray-haired youth nodded. "Yeah. Go ahead, Nanako. I'll be right back."

She chirped a response and he heard the voice of a new announcer – "In less than a year, Castle of Bonds has become surprisingly popular with…" – fade as he stepped outside to dump the trash into its respective bin.

The cool breeze was gentle against his skin and ruffled his hair in a playful manner, causing Yu to smile and relax as he gazed up at the cloudless heavens.

_Today really was a good day…_

Just then, he remembered and reached into his breast pocket to pull out a certain booklet.

_"How To Play Chess: Version Onii-chan"…?_

He raised a brow at the title and took a closer look at the red crayon and slightly wrinkled paper from beneath the moonlight.

_Hm… It's kind of old–looking…_

Flipping open the booklet, Yu saw that each page was dedicated to a different chess piece and grinned.

_Cute._

* * *

*_Genji Monogatari_ is also (famously) known as _The Tale of Genji_ and was written by Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period, and is sometimes called the world's first novel.

* * *

**Gin Nanashi:** Sorry (again) for taking almost a month to get this out. Real Life is kicking my ass pretty badly, haha... Anyway, I've made several references (some subtle, some definitely not) to in-game stuff: both P3 and P4. Can you find them? :D


	4. Cross Game

**Author's Note: **And welcome back! Sorry if it took so long... We got school and we got busy. Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. Be good and review for us? Thanks to my partner for editing :P And now some words from her.

**Gin Nanashi:** Whoops! I accidentally messed up the time of the exhibition match. It's supposed to be after school, not ten in the morning. Sorry about that and do enjoy!

* * *

**Tuesday, April 10, 2012**

* * *

A familiar heaviness weighed his body down, making each motion slow and heavy, as beige and brown blurred before his eyes. There was an ever present haze perpetuating his vision and every blink he made simply caused a shift from light to darkness and back again, not unlike that of clouded shutters. His mind was foggy, cluttered even, with vague notions flittering to and fro without much sense until a familiar scent wafted through his nose…

_Sluuurp._

And suddenly everything bursted to life as one Yu Narukami sighed contentedly, finally straightening up in his seat and smiling for the first time that early morning. "Uncle's coffee truly is a godsend~…"

"Hah! I would hope so," Ryotaro huffed a laugh as he picked up a piece of darkened bacon, "It's about the only thing I'm good for at home."

"That's not true," Nanako piped up after swallowing her mouthful of scrambled eggs, "Daddy's breakfasts always turn out delicious!"

"–cause you help," Yu coughed before smiling innocently at the look his uncle shot at him, "Sorry. It was so delicious that I choked a bit."

"You shouldn't eat so fast, Big Bro," she scolded the male, utterly oblivious to the "I'm onto you" look that her father was giving the other, "Mari-sensei says that it's bad for your tummy if you do!"*

Hearing this, Yu turned to and saluted the young girl. "Yes, ma'am! Can't get a stomachache today of all days, after all."

"Today…" Nanako thought for a moment before perking up in remembrance. "Oh! That's right! Big Bro's playing in the– the–" Her brows furrowed as she stumbled over the vocabulary. "Eggs…uh…big…shun…?"

She turned to her cousin for affirmation and he nodded, causing her to smile proudly and proclaim, "Big Bro's playing in the exhibition after school!"

"Exhibition?" The man of the house raised a brow. "You've joined a club already?"

The gray-haired male shook his head. "No. Not really, anyway. I'm just filling in for someone and Nanako's coming to watch, right?"

"Right!" She nodded happily. "I've never seen chess before so it'll be fun!"

"Chess, huh." Ryotaro leaned back a bit to eye his nephew. "Well, I suppose you could fit the image of a chess player…"

Yu bit into his french toast…

"…or maybe just a _player_."

…and promptly choked.

A burst of hearty laughter left the man's lips even as Nanako panicked, slapping a hand against the teen's back several times, before Yu finally dislodged the offending piece and glared at his uncle.

Ryotaro grinned in response and mouthed, _Revenge._

Unfortunately for him, his daughter was unamused at how he'd simply laughed at her Big Bro's plight and began scolding him with an impressive(ly adorable) scowl on her face, causing Yu to snicker when the man eventually folded to her awesome might.

At his uncle's irritated glance, Yu smirked in victory.

_Payback's a bitch~._

* * *

**Afternoon – Arcana Academy**

* * *

A yawn of almost epic proportions left his lips as Yu stretched luxuriously underneath the warm sun's rays, earning himself a short laugh from Yosuke.

"Careful there," the brunet teased with a grin, "Keep stretching like that and the hyenas will pounce soon."

A careless glance over at said females intently eyeing the sliver of skin that showed from his stretch made the gray-haired youth freeze for all but five seconds before he twitched and slowly lowered his arms to assume his usual position, asking airily, "So, how long do I have to enjoy my 'new guy' charm anyway?"

"Well…" Yosuke adopted a mock thinking pose. "Given the fact that we haven't gotten a male transfer since, what, three years ago? Plus the fact that most of us has known each other since we were in diapers, add to it that you're friends with my awesome self and…" He hummed in thought before smirking. "I'd say you're in for it all year, buddy!"

"Oh goodie," Yu deadpanned, "Just what I've always wanted: fangirls."

His partner simply laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. "Aw, don't be like that! Some of them are pretty darn cute, y'know?"

_Can't deny that–_

"AHA!" A blur passed by his eyes and Yu blinked before going cross-eyed at the finger pointing at him. "You just thought about Mi-Mi, didn't you?!"

Yosuke was grinning most mischievously and the gray-haired male fought the urge to roll his eyes, parting his lips to answer, when a sudden call distracted him.

"Big Bro!" Nanako jogged up to him with a bright expression. "How was your day?"

Attention redirected, Yu returned her smile and rested a hand on her head. "Just fine, Nanako. How was yours?"

"It was great!" She cheered before taking on a slightly impish countenance. "Me and Teddie were just talking about how you fell asleep in class~."

"What?!" Yosuke squawked and rounded on the blonde, "Teddie! I told you to keep that a secret, didn't I?!"

Said male flustered. "B-B-But–! Nana-chan was asking why Senpai was late and I couldn't just _lie_ to her!"

Just as Yosuke was about to respond, a burst of giggles interrupted him before Nanako quickly tried to muffle them. "Hee hee! It's okay, Hanamura-senpai! It's not the first time Big Bro fell asleep in class."

She then grinned up at her cousin. "That book must've been really fun to read if you forgot to sleep after I said goodnight!"

An embarrassed blush dusted his cheeks as Yu coughed. "I just wanted to make sure I got the rules down, that's all."

"Rules…?" Yosuke echoed before it clicked and he grinned, nudging his friend slyly, "Ooooooh, I see now~! T'is the pamphlet Mi-Mi gave you, huh~?"

"I was just reading about chess," Yu retorted, "It'd be bad if I let her down, okay?"

_Shit. I sounded _way_ too defensive there._

"Suuure~…" The brunet wasn't going to lose his smirk anytime soon. "Whatever you say, partner, whatever you–"

BEEP!

Startled, they all jumped at the loud noise before Teddie fumbled with his pockets and pulled out a cellphone that was encased in a fuzzy cover of red, white and blue patches amateurishly stitched together.

_What is _that_ supposed to be?_ Yu wondered in bafflement, eyeing the tiny half-spheres attached to the top and the lopsided googly eyes, _An American bear?_**

_More like a thing of nightmares! _Snarky shuddered. _I bet it waits in some hole for an unfortunate victim to nab and–_

A yelp from Teddie cut off the possibility of any gory details to be contemplated and Yu raised a brow upon seeing Yosuke panic too.

"Shoot! I forgot!" The brunet turned to them apologetically. "Sorry, Yu, Nanako-chan, but we've gotta get going or else we'll be late for work!"

Realization dawned on Yu. "Oh, right. Minako-san said something about that yesterday…"

Yosuke grimaced. "Yeah, well, aside from that, it's back to school season so it'll be pretty hectic for a while and–" He suddenly shook his head. "Argh! I'm getting distracted again. Anyway, we'll see you two tomorrow, alright? Good luck in the exhibition!"

With that said, the brunet dashed away, dragging Teddie by the collar as the blond tearfully waved at the cousins. "Bye, Nana-chan! Bye, Senpai! I'll miss yoooooouuuuuu~!"

And then they were gone.

For a moment, silence reigned between the two left behind before Nanako piped up, "Hey, Big Bro?"

"Hm?" Yu gave her a curious look, noting the way she scrunched up her face in thought. "What is it, Nanako?"

She hesitated before finally putting on the most serious expression she could and asking, "What was Teddie-senpai's phone supposed to be?"

Stumped, Yu thought back to the handmade cover and couldn't help but shudder a bit before clearing his throat. "It's a…" _Monster._ "…bear." _I think._

Nanako tilted her head from side to side, contemplating his answer, before finally nodding. "Oh. I think I see it now. I thought it was supposed to be a funny cat."

"I see…" _Not_. Yu sweated a bit. _Art _really_ isn't Nanako's strong point._

"Narukami-san~!"

Flinching a bit at the voice, Yu slowly turned around before quickly straightening up as a familiar red-eyed female walked over to him with a smile.

"Minako-san," he greeted, returning her expression, "And you can call me Yu. Narukami's a bit of a mouthful."

Surprise flickered through her eyes before her cheeks warmed and she ducked her head in both assent and embarrassment. "O-Oh… Then… Yu…-san…?"

She peeked up at him through her lashes and the gray-haired male had to discreetly pinch himself in order to stop his own blush from appearing. "Yes, Minako-san?"

"I was wondering," she started, tracing the air with a finger, "If you've finished reading…?"

Hand brushing against his breast pocket, Yu nodded. "Yeah, I did. It was really easy to understand." He held it out. "Thanks for letting me borrow it."

A smile played on his lips when her touch lingered on his, widening just a bit when the redness in her cheeks darkened. Realizing how her actions could be construed, Minako jerked away with her hands held up defensively and stuttered incoherently before abruptly shutting up upon noticing a pair of chocolate eyes gazing curiously at her.

"Oh, hello," Minako greeted the younger girl with a bow and held out a hand, "My name's Minako Yuki. And you are…?"

"Nanako Dojima," the smaller brunette chirped, shaking the other's hand and bowing as well, "It's nice to meet you, Yuki-senpai! Are you in the same class as Big Bro?"

"Minako's fine," she said instinctively before processing the rest of the girl's words and shaking her head, "And no, but I'm in the same year as Yu-san." She then pulled back to look between the two and smiled. "Ah, I can see the resemblance now."

"Really?" Nanako perked up. "Where? Where?"

"Well…" Minako started as she crouched in front of the girl and poked her cheek. "For one, you both share the same cheek structure. And for another…" She glanced over at the quiet male. "You're both cute."

Heat exploded on his cheeks as Yu gawked at the brunette, shocked that she would be so bold as to say that, but the young woman simply grinned and sang, "Of course, Nanako-chan's much, MUCH cuter, of course~!"

Giggles left her lips as Nanako took in her Big Bro's utterly flustered state before her eyes sparkled and she turned back to Minako, inquiring rather innocently, "Oh, but that's because Big Bro's supposed to be handsome, right?"

This time, the older brunette found herself at a loss as Yu recomposed himself and hid a smirk. "Handsome, am I?"

Stutters left her lips as Minako flushed, having not expected her moment of confidence to be swept out from under her. "W-Well, y-you're not…bad…looking…"

How red she became was a little worrisome but Yu couldn't help but enjoy the way she gave him a once over…

Twice.

"A-Anyway~!" She straightened up as if such an action would disperse her embarrassment. "The exhibition will start in less than half an hour and I wanted to introduce you to the others." Red eyes locked with brown ones. "Nanako-chan, do you want to come too?"

"Can I?" The girl looked anxious. "I won't get in the way or anything, will I?"

Minako grinned. "Of course you can! The more, the merrier! And besides, someone as sweet as you can't possibly be trouble!"

Nanako blushed but smiled back. "Thank you, Minako-senpai!"

"And thank _you_ for joining us." She winked at her before twirling around and pointing with a flourish. "To the exhibition then~!"

Watching the two brunettes engage in cheerful conversation, Yu lagged behind a bit and couldn't help but feel a teensy bit relieved. As fun, nice and harmless as Teddie seemed to be, the gray-haired youth would really prefer for Nanako to spend some time with others of her gender, especially since she had a tendency to decline requests from her age-mates to be with either her father or himself.

_Not that I can blame her, _Yu sighed silently, _With Uncle being a detective, she doesn't see him all that often and, because of Mom and Dad's work, I lived too far away before to visit often._

…which was why he counted his blessings for the opportunity to move in with them this year.

_When will she return…?_

"And we're here!"

Yu snapped back to attention and noticed that they'd passed the sports field and entered a vast area of what would've been nothing but green grass and empty space had it not been for the multitude of tables set up underneath the expansive and surprisingly elegant party tent. From where he was, he could see other board games set up, such as the more popular shogi and go, along with stands of baked goods and drinks and other areas were displaying artwork and musical sheets and photographs. Even farther away were stalls displaying a bull's eye and sports equipment.

"Hey, everyone!" Minako chirped loudly as she led the cousins to a particular group of four students who returned her greeting, "This is Yu Narukami! He's–"

"–the one you've been gushing over."

Yu blinked, surprised to hear that and glanced over at the brunette who flushed, before hiding a smile and turning to look at the speaker. She was a young woman with curly ash-brown hair and an air of maturity surrounding her. Her gray eyes caught his.

"I'm Saori Hasegawa, Vice President of the Chess Club." She bowed, to which he returned the gesture. "It's nice to finally meet you, Narukami-san."

"Mou~… I was NOT gushing, Saori-chan!" Minako pouted, still stuck on that subject. "I was just… really happy that he decided to help us out. That's all!"

"Oh, really?" Saori laughed softly. "Then why did you skip–"

Her words were abruptly cut off as the brunette clamped a hand over her friend's mouth, cheeks burning once more.

As fun as it was to watch Minako panic, a sigh caught Yu's attention and he turned to see a younger male placing a box of chess paraphernalia onto the table.

He ran his fingers through his sandy-hued hair and shook his head before smiling somewhat hesitantly at the gray-haired male and holding out a hand. "Hi. I'm Naoki Konishi, Treasurer. A pleasure and please excuse Miss President's… exuberance."

Yu chuckled at the way he described the brunette and shook the boy's hand. "It's nice to meet you too, Konishi-san."

He winced. "Ah, Naoki's fine. It gets confusing otherwise since my sister's also in this club." A half-smile graced his lips. "Her name's Saki and, speaking of whom, she's the one you're filling in for today so thanks for that."

"I heard about that," Yu admitted before asking, "Is she feeling any better?"

Naoko's smile turned sincere. "Yeah, she is, thanks for asking. Although…" A grimace appeared on his face. "She's pretty pissed off that she had to miss this to fully recover."

Before he could ask anymore, a rather accented voice interrupted.

"Ah, Minako-sama, where should I set up ze boards?"

Yu turned to see a foreigner with short, straight-cut pale blond hair and a Japanese fan in hand. His light blue eyes lifted to meet achromatic ones and widened before the newcomer grinned in clear excitement.

"Oh! Are you ze one joining for today?" It was a rhetorical question as the young man continued on happily with a bow. "Merveilleux! Wonderful! My name eez Andre Laurent Jean Geraux."

_Andre La-whosit Jean whatsit?_

"But, everyone calls me Bebe! Enchantée! It eez nice to meet you!"

"A-Ah…" Yu sweated a bit, still reeling from the unexpectedly long and complicated name, before managing a small smile. "It's nice to meet you too, Bebe-san."

"Bebe-kun's our PR," Minako suddenly appeared, linking her arm with the blond, "And he's absolutely fantastic with needlework! Isn't he just awesome?"

_…an otomen?_ was his first thought that came to mind before he took note of their sparkling moment, leading to an amendment of opinion, _Or maybe he's g–_

A tug on his jacket snapped Yu out of his rumination and he looked down to see Nanako blushing, having finished introducing herself with a bow and was currently being lavished with compliments by the excitable duo, before a chime rang quietly but clearly through the area.

Saori startled. "Oh! I do believe that signals the end of preparation time."

"That it does! And lucky for us, Naoki-kun's as diligent as ever," Minako chirped as she clasped him on the shoulder, "Many thanks!"

The boy simply rolled his eyes. "Just remember that you're not a vampire, Senpai."***

That simply earned him a raspberry from the brunette before she clapped her hands and got down to business. "Alrighty then! Yu-san, you can take this table right here. If anyone seems even remotely interested, then offer them a friendly game. Otherwise, you can just chill with Saori-chan and Naoki-kun who'll be sitting right here." She patted the empty seats nearby. "Meanwhile, Bebe-kun and I will be walking around and seeing if we can get people to come over here. We'll be back later to check up on things, okay?"

Yu saluted. "Understood."

Minako grinned. "Alright then, soldiers, move out and good luck~!"

She turned to leave when a thought occurred and she turned to the youngest. "By the way, Nanako-chan, feel free to play too. Who knows, maybe you'll end up liking the game?"

That said, the pair left with a wave as everyone else quietly settled into their designated area.

"So…" Naoki started, shifting in his seat, "How well do you know chess, Narukami-senpai?"

Yu rolled his shoulders a few times before answering, "I've been a chess player for…" He glanced at his watch. "Thirty-four seconds and counting." A pause as he cracked his knuckles. "Unless you're counting the time I took to read the rules, in which case it would be, what, twenty hours?"

His jaw dropped as Naoki gawked at the taller male of their group in disbelief while Saori covered her mouth, uttering, "Oh my…"

Yu merely shrugged helplessly, causing the sandy-haired boy to drop his head against his desk, muttering under his breath about eccentric presidents and such.

Saori simply shook her head before smiling encouragingly at him. "It's fine, Narukami-san. This isn't a serious event anyway so just have fun and don't worry too much about winning."

Just then, her attention was stolen as a middle schooler wearing an orange hoodie underneath his jacket walked up to her, asking about the club.

A somewhat stilted silence befell the two males before Naoki finally sighed and lifted his head to meet achromatic eyes. "Hey, uh, Senpai? Don't take my reaction too close to heart." He rubbed the side of his face awkwardly. "It's just that Miss President has a tendency to act rashly at times so, more than anything, I feel sorry for you, getting dragged into this because of her and all…"

Surprised, Yu stared at him before slowly shaking his head. "It's fine. I don't feel trouble at all so you don't need to apologize in any way. Besides, this is a new experience for me so I might as well take the opportunity to learn something from it." He shrugged.

Naoki's brows raised. "You really aren't bothered by this? …Huh. You're pretty amazing, Senpai." He rested his head in his hands. "If it weren't for the fact that I prefer Chess Club over home, I'd find all of this to be a hassle…"

Noticing that the boy's gaze was unfocused, Yu suspected that he hadn't meant to say that aloud and stayed quiet to respect his privacy. Instead, the gray-haired male turned to his cousin who was inspecting each piece with a curious expression on her face.

"Hey, Big Bro?" She finally looked up at him and held out one of the two horse-shaped statues. "What's this?"

Yu smiled and poked her nose. "It's a knight." Her eyes lit up.

"A knight?!" Excitement was evident in her voice. "Like a hero? Like Fairy Boy?"

"'Fairy Boy'?" Naoki repeated out of curiosity, snapping back to attention.

"Yeah!" Nanako nodded happily, bouncing a bit. "He's really small at first but, after pulling that sword out of the stone, he grew up and got a horse and everything!" Her face then fell a bit. "I tried to find the sword in the church back home but there was none…" But, just as quickly, she perked back up. "But that's okay! I'll still grow big if I drink lots of milk. Daddy says so!"

"Well, he _is_ right," Naoki laughed softly, getting swept up in her childish dreams, "Plus, Milk has calcium so your bones will be stronger too."

As the conversation carried on to include how amazing it would be to meet a real-live horse or, better yet, a _unicorn_, Yu relaxed into his seat and allowed his eyes to wander the area, taking in the sheer number of visitors with a hint of surprise.

_You'd think it was the Culture Festival or something…_

_But, alas–!_ Snarky sighed, _No maids are to be seen._

He was kicked off the mental edge as Yu's brow twitched furiously.

"…You alright there?"

Achromatic eyes blinked, looking up at the speaker to see a young man around his age with short, somewhat wavy, black hair and light skin. He was dressed rather casually in a black graphic tee, splashed red and white on the front, along with a pair of gray washed-out jeans and black converse-boots. A baggy navy beanie adorned his head and shadowed his dark eyes.

Seeing the blank stare directed at him, the stranger tilted his head forward. "Sorry if I surprised you, but… You looked a bit weary so I thought I'd ask."

Yu quickly composed himself and shook his head. "No, it's fine. If anything, I should thank you for taking the time to ask about my wellbeing despite not knowing me." He held out a hand. "Yu Narukami, high school senior at Arcana Academy. It's nice to meet you…?"

A ghost of a smile played on the other's lips as he took a seat, eyes roaming across the board before lifting a hand to move a black pawn forward, stating simply, "The best way to know a chess player is to play chess. Your move, stranger."

Although taken aback, the gray-haired youth straightened up and took a second to think before making his move, commenting airily, "Do you do this to everyone you meet for the first time?"

His smile widened as he directed a piece. "I find that the ladies tend to be attracted to the mysterious."

Yu hummed and they fell into companionable silence with nothing save the sound of pieces clinking against the board as they planned, plotted and exchanged hand after hand before achromatic eyes suddenly narrowed in focus.

_His queen's been made vulnerable._ It was in range of his knight._ If I can take her out, then his moves will be limited._

The equine figure moved and struck down the arguably strongest piece in-game.

The unnamed, though, was unmoved and merely lifted a hand to move a stray pawn into enemy territory and declared, "Checkmate."

Yu startled as his mind reeled, looking between his king and the offending pawn, before he uttered the ever-so-eloquent response, "Huh?"

A chuckle left the stranger's lips as he tapped the winning pawn and switched it out for the queen that had fallen one turn earlier. "Once a pawn reaches the other side, it can be promoted to any piece save the king on the same turn and, with your king surrounded on all other sides…"

"…Checkmate." Yu smile sardonically as he shook the other's hand. "You left your queen open on purpose and I completely fell for it."

The stranger tilted his head and studied his opponent for a moment. "…A beginner you may be, I still had fun playing against you." He smirked and stood up. "Maybe we'll play again? You had some pretty interesting moves, after all… especially with that knight of yours."

And with that said, he left with nothing more than a wave, disappearing into the crowd of other nameless persons.

_Sacrifice the queen, huh?_

Achromatic eyes strayed to the board as his lips tilted just a tad.

_Such a play in reality would be painful though._

"Interesting game."

_Wha–?!_

He blinked as the scent of strawberry reached his nose and blinked yet again before noticing the brunette standing next to him, expression contemplative and eyes sharper than he'd ever seen them.

"Who'd you play?"

Hesitant, Yu floundered for an answer before smiling sheepishly. "I don't know."

Red eyes blinked before Minako raised a brow at him in question and the male rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, slowly explaining what had happened. She listened quietly, face unnervingly stoic, as her eyes remained on the captured king. The silence stretched long enough for Yu to feel uncomfortable and he cleared his throat, causing Minako to flinch in surprise before quickly pasting a grin on her lips.

"So, anyway, did you have fun?" Her smile turned more genuine when he nodded in answer. "Then that's all that matters!" She moved to clear the board and placed a bag that he hadn't noticed she was carrying onto the table. "While roaming, I thought I'd grab some drinks and snacks for everyone. Which do you want?"

She held a Dr. Salt NEO in one hand and a TaP Soda in the other.

"Big Bro likes TaP," Nanako answered for him, suddenly appearing from behind. Yu resisted the urge to jump but couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes upon seeing the mischief in her eyes, "And so do I!"

_Little imp,_ he thought fondly, _I've really taught her well._

Minako grinned at her fellow brunette. "Really? Same here!" She popped open three of them and handed one to each cousin. "Here you go!"

Taking the offered drink, Yu casted an eye over to the tables beside him and noticed that the other members had disappeared.

"I told them to take a break," Minako told him upon seeing the confusion on his face, "No one's really coming 'round so… Oh well." She shrugged in a careless manner, but the way her eyes flickered away told a different story. "Anyway, I've also nabbed some chocolate cake. Want?"

Yu hesitated, wanting to ask, but she'd already turned to the youngest, repeating her question.

"Yes, please!" Nanako chirped before thanking the older female and digging right in, "Mm~ It's really yummy!"

"I'm glad you like it." Minako smiled, sipping at her drink and watching the girl eat with much relish. "It's pretty much the finest cake from around here."

"Really?!" Nanako leaned forward. "Where is it from?"

"Hehe~ Interested?" Minako winked. "Tell you what: if you're free on Sunday, I'll take you both there – my treat!"

Puppy dog eyes immediately turned to plead with the sole male and Yu sweated, unsure of having a woman pay for him.

Seeing this, Minako quickly added in, "And I want to properly thank the two of you for helping me, _us_, today. I'd be in quite the pickle otherwise, y'know? So… Please."

She bowed her head so earnestly that the gray-haired youth ended up nodding without really realizing it until the girls cheered, high-fiving each other in victory much to his bemusement.

"I'll meet you at the station in Ayanagi City, alright?" Minako asked as she pulled out her cellphone. "Here: I'll give you my number and email just in case."

Before Yu could react, Nanako had already dug out his black and silver mobile from his jacket's pocket and a simple beep later signaled the exchange of contact information.

Just when the gray-haired youth parted his lips to speak, the others had returned with a few visitors in tow, causing the red-eyed woman to skip up to them happily.

And so, it was with an exasperated sigh towards his giggling sister that Yu Narukami straightened himself up to greet an elderly couple with a smile.

_Well, _he thought as he began another game, _At least I've got her number now._

But that didn't stop questions from swirling in mind.

* * *

*Any _Devil Survivor_ fans here? :D

**This, admittedly, isn't a very good pun so, for anyone confused out there, I'll explain right now. There is an actual animal known as the American Black Bear (_Ursus americanus_) but the real joke is that Teddie makes bear puns and the cellphone cover is in red, blue and white, i.e. the colors of the American flag, hence an American bear. As for the story behind it… I'll likely explain it later on.

***Another stale joke but, eh, I couldn't resist mocking the vampires in _Twilight_.

* * *

**Gin Nanashi:** And done! Whew… Although, I probably shouldn't have pushed off all of my readings in order to get this out… *stares at inch-thick stack of papers and grimaces* That'll take a day or so to wade through…

Anyway–! Many thanks to _sillyfudgemonkeys_ and _KazuyaYamura_ for taking the time to humor me by typing out the shout-outs that you'd noticed! Hopefully, the amount that I've inserted wasn't too much? (Oh, and there was this itsy-bitsy, super-subtle-it-might-as-well-not-even-be-there reference to that one line Mitsuru had about how reading under the moonlight is nice every once in a while. XD)

In any case, if no one minds humoring me, can you guess which video game the pain of sacrificing the queen refers to? (Hint: It was released in Spring of 2012 in Japan and Winter of 2013 in North America.)

Until next time then~! ;3

**ReachingOutFES: **Wonder who was that guy... The one who play against Yu... Is he on the cover for this story? Only I know and a few others so don't spoil in the review if you do know :P. See ya.


End file.
